Since the advent of the invention described in basic U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,279 for an effective root control barrier, there have been various patents describing actual and supposed improvements in apparatus for causing tree roots to grow downwardly to the bottom of the barrier and thereafter grow outwardly beneath a hardscape. There have not, insofar as applicant is aware, been patents describing elements for disbursing, spreading or distributing of tree roots in a controlled manner, for the purpose of rapidly anchoring the tree in the earth and achieving other significant results indicated below. In addition, there has not--insofar as applicant is aware--been an invention comprising the combination of such a root disbursement element with a root control barrier adapted to protect sidewalks, curbs, foundations and other hardscapes from root damage.
Stated in another manner, the art of root deflection and tree root containment is now, since the invention described in the above-indicated patent, well known and commercial. However, insofar as applicant is aware, all root control apparatus and methods manufactured and used since the invention described in such patent employ the concept of a contained root growth environment down to the bottom of the root control barrier. Applicant has now conceived that there is a major need for controlled root disbursement both within and in the absence of a root control barrier.
There is a long-existing need for a means and method to effect rapid deep-rooting of tree roots in the earth. In the absence of such rapid deep-rooting, relatively newly-planted trees tend to lean or fall over in response to heavy winds that blow against them.
It is known that, as trees become more and more mature, their roots create greater and greater pressures against surrounding or adjacent root control barriers. It is believed that, typically, the pressures against the barriers eventually rupture them. There is needed a method and apparatus for reducing internal root-expansion pressures within a root control barrier environment. This will extend the potential life expectancy of the root control apparatus, and ultimately ensure further the integrity of the surrounding hardscape for a longer period of time.